Modern Creekside Retreat

A Modern Mountain Cabin Rental in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains

This 650sqft, Nordic-inspired retreat (#22 at Firelight at Shope Creek) comes with a cozy, contemporary wood stove, and decks on both sides of the cabin for starry nights and wildlife watching. A private hot tub stands on the back deck, while indoors, vaulted ceilings create a spacious ambiance with abundant windows that flood the space with bright natural light.

The cabin’s kitchen comes fully stocked, and there are dining tables both indoors and out as well as an outdoor grill space. The community was created by Maria Rusafova of Rusafova Markulis Architects, with cabin interiors by Nicole Belue of Dwellings Inspired Furnishings, and the cabins offer the best of both worlds—a vibrant arts community nearby in Asheville, North Carolina, and a cabin in the woods experience.

Firelight at Shope Creek

Each of the cabins is nestled in the woods with access to the community’s shared, designer pavilion with an outdoor fireplace and comfy furnishings, a generous dining table as well as fire pits, raised bed gardens open for picking, and a chicken coop from which to gather farm eggs. Private hiking trails depart from the door and lead through the woods on site, and clearings along Shope Creek make great picnic and wading spots.

Around

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, the cabins are close to the Blue Ridge Parkway Pisgah National Forest and Warren Wilson College. With artsy Asheville nearby, the cabins offer immersion in the great outdoors and access to cultural, historical and culinary destinations. Asheville’s dining scene is a creative mecca, with favorite restaurants ranging from a much-celebrated Spanish tapas bar to classic Southern cafes, to Indian, Italian and white-table Mexican spots. Breweries, wineries, and distilleries keep spirits high, along with mixology-level cocktail bars. The Biltmore Estate has long drawn folks to the area, who come for its traditional, neatly manicured, exclusive club vibe and generous gardens that host an annual bloom festival. The North Carolina Arboreteum is a great place to explore the wealth of regional flora, and the city is full of outdoor recreation options, from hiking and mountain biking to spring hopping and river rafting, fishing, rock climbing, horseback riding, golf and tennis. The area’s artistic heritage runs deep, with Black Mountain College an institution of avant-garde thought and expression since its founding, mountain makers, crafters and folk artists carrying on longstanding artisanal traditions, dozens of contemporary art galleries and performance art venues, and the town's River Arts District lined with studios, exhibition spaces and shops.

Location

Nearest airports: Asheville (20 miles), Greenville/Spartanburg (55 miles)

Best time to visit

March to October